Shizuko Yasuda Derrick

Shizuko Yasuda Derrick (Suzy)
August 9th 1927- April 23, 2011
Shizuko Yasuda Derrick, known to friends and family simply as Grandma, was born to Yocheo Yasuda and Yoshio Nacache on August 9th 1927 in Okinawa, Japan the second of eight children.
She was preceded in death by her parents and five younger siblings on March 19th, 1944 (who all died in a WWII bombing of their ship on the way to Saipan) and her husband Jonathan Derrick. She was raised by her grandparents until she left home to work in a parachute factory in Japan. During WWII she injured her knee while running for cover during an air strike. She tripped over railroad tracks, but picked herself up and kept running. Later, she looked down and saw a large gash in her knee. As she grew older that knee began hurting again and she walked with a limp the last few years of her life.

Her only child, Judy, was born July 22nd in Kokura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She married Jonathan Edward Derrick of Philadelphia, PA on November 24th 1953 in Kobe, Japan. Jonathan adopted Judy and they lived on a military base in Japan. One of the luxuries Grandma liked about living on base was that they were able to afford a housekeeper. Grandma, Grandpa Derrick and Judy (then 8 years old) left Japan on Dec 18, 1956 from the port of Yokohama and arrived Jan 5, 1957 in Seattle, Washington. After arriving in Seattle, the family flew to Philadelphia, PA to meet some of Jonathan's family and then took the bus to Niagara Falls, NY. They lived there until housing was available at Fort Niagara, NY. After Jonathan's retirement from the Army they moved to Buffalo, NY. Grandma never worked outside her home until she moved to Chicago, IL in 1965 to be near Judy and her new husband Lee Von Gunten. She worked a short time as a coat check girl at a nice restaurant on Milwaukee Ave in Chicago. While in Chicago she became a US citizen on November 21, 1967. She continued to move west following her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren arriving in Salt Lake City in 2001. She resided surrounded by her loved ones in West Jordan, Utah. Where she spoiled, cared, and cooked fried rice for her family and friends. Grandma was known to all as a loving, generous woman who always made sure your stomach and pockets were full before you left. She showed her deep devotion to Buddha by kneeling in prayer, chanting three times a day.
She passed away in her home on April 23, 2011 at the age of 83. She is survived by one sister in Japan, her daughter Judy, her grandchildren John, Erica, William, David, James and 14 great-grandchildren.